Overview & Reviews

Jaguar cars have a long history of elegant styling and sporting performance. The brand was born in the United Kingdom, and for years its vehicles were synonymous with the old-world luxury of the British upper classes. More recently, Jaguar has been under the ownership of other automakers, but Jaguar cars will always bear the unmistakable gleam of traditional English refinement.

The company traces its roots to the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded in 1922 by Bill Lyons and William Walmsley. Based in Blackpool, England, the company produced a popular line of aluminum motorcycle sidecars. Swallow eventually switched its focus to automobile production, changing its name to SS Cars Ltd. in 1933. The first vehicle to carry the Jaguar name was the SS Jaguar 100, released in 1935.

After World War II, SS Cars switched its moniker to Jaguar so as not to be associated with the Nazi paramilitary organization that bore the same initials. Its first postwar offering was 1948's Mark V. The luxury sedan was joined that year by the XK 120, a sports car that was the fastest production automobile of its day — its name indicating its top speed. The XK 120 proved quite popular, and helped Jaguar establish a strong presence in the sports car market.

By the 1950s, Jaguar had begun exporting luxury vehicles to the United States. Created just for the American market, the Mark VII Saloon was introduced in 1951 and was a hit with stateside motorists. In 1956, the car took the prize at the Monte Carlo Rally. Later in the decade, Jaguar added the Mark VIII and Mark IX to its lineup. Meanwhile, the XK became the XK 140 as performance increased. Then came the XK 150 which was obviously even faster, though not quite as curvaceously alluring as the 120/140 models.

The 1960s saw the launch of one of Jaguar's most well-known models. The E-Type (or XK-E as it was known in the U.S.) debuted for 1961. The new sports car, available as either a coupe or convertible, provided performance and refinement wrapped up in an undeniably sexy package. The success of groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and icons like Twiggy the fashion model made British culture a hot commodity during the '60s — a fact that likely had positive implications for Jaguar's popularity in the U.S.

A decade later, Jaguar introduced the XJ6C and XJ12C coupes to join the sedans. At one point, the XJ12 was the fastest production sedan of its day. By the mid-'70s the lovely E-Type was replaced by the relatively bland XJ-S. The 1980s saw Jaguar continuing to raise the bar in performance with the launch of the XJ-S HE and a true world supercar, the XJ220.
By this time, however, Jaguar's cars had also built up a reputation for questionable reliability, electrical problems being the chief source of owners' angst. Increased competition from German automakers and adverse exchange rates didn't help matters either. Without much capital to work with to improve matters, the company decided to pursue a partnership with another company. This decision ultimately led to a full buyout of Jaguar by Ford in 1990.

Ford's influence (and financial support) was evident with the 1997 launch of Jaguar's XK8 and supercharged XKR sports cars. Powering both was Jaguar's new AJ-V8, a compact yet powerful engine that was also used in certain Land Rover vehicles. A few years later, Jaguar made an effort to broaden its product line with the introduction of a lower-priced, entry-luxury compact sedan known as the X-Type. Unfortunately, this model sold poorly, as its modest European Ford sedan underpinnings proved to be a liability. Around this time, Jaguar's old-school traditional styling grew stale as competitors moved into the new millennium with cutting-edge, modern designs inside and out.

Sales plummeted, and Jaguar's financial problems caused further headaches for parent company Ford, which was also experiencing financial turmoil. Ford cut its losses and sold Jaguar (and fellow British premium brand Land Rover) to Indian manufacturer Tata in 2008. Though reliability still remains a concern, new models like the XF and redesigned icons XK and XJ seem to indicate a bright Jaguar future, as they feature modern designs sprinkled with a fair share of classic Britannic charm.

User Reviews:

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  Know what it is. - 2003 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Mr Dearborn - March 30 - 8:06 pm

  The XKR is a touring car, not a race car. People often get caught up in statistics when evaluating cars in this category. The XKR is heavier than other sports cars so it is slower in 0-60 times and around a track. You do get something though from the weight - leather and wood everywhere. Sitting in an XKR is a thrill in itself let alone driving it. And it is plenty fast with 400bhp. There are some quirks and design flaws on the XKR that you wouldnt find on a German car but the XKR seethes passion unlike its rivals. It is gorgeous to look at and a very rare car, the coupe especially; people will stare. In short, when I feel like getting out of town for a weekend, this car is perfect.

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  Beautiful Cat - 2001 Jaguar S-Type
  By Jeff in St. Louis - March 26 - 2:00 am

  Sexy lines and the classy Look. 4.0 V8 is powerful enough to give you load of fun. Ride is smooth and sporty. A real treat. It is a feel good car when you sit behind the wheel.

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  Aging Badly - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By David - March 21 - 5:00 am

  We have absolutely loved this car, and up until now, marveled at how much Fords ownership had improved the reliability of the marque (vis a vis Jaguars reputation in the 1980s). At five years of age, window channels and other relatively minor things broke that would never have failed in some other automobiles. Most recently, with less than 40,000 miles on the odometer, we got to pay $2,400+ for a transmission rebuild. It was explained that there is a "braking mechanism" in the transmission that helped slow the car when the foot was lifted aff of the accelerator. Ford has improved Jaguars reputation from their former deplorable reputation up to Fords mediocre at best reliability.

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  What a car - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By rruss - March 16 - 10:00 am

  Only for those who are interested in spoiling themselves. Drives and handles like a dream, this is a smooth car in every respect. Never harsh, never out of control, it drives like it is an extension of yourself.

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  Jaguar s-type R - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By Sphinx121187 - March 16 - 10:00 am

  The Jaguar S-Type R is a very interesting car. Its dynamics and its engineering are very fun and solid. It is an extremely stable and fast car. The exterior styling keeps in line with a fast sleek interesting cat. It is the epitimy of high performance luxury European cars.

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  2005 S-Type - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By trigmo - March 16 - 10:00 am

  Purchased from Hennessy Gwinnet ATL and dealership and salesperson Tom Watson were great. Car drives like a dream and had DVD Nav system which changed the interior config to look more like the XJ8. Cant say enough good things about the car! V^ has plenty of power and you will be amazed at the transmission and its smoothness! Sweet ride, options run price up to 50K but worth it!

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  Awesome!!! - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By d12watch - March 16 - 10:00 am

  Just bought this car. Loving every minute of it. Its a joy to behold. A bargin at $10K less than similarly equipped BMW 330xi.

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  Nice ride - 2006 Jaguar X-Type
  By hans song - March 8 - 12:16 am

  The vehicle is a great looking and bears a great name, yet does not drive in that manner. I love the stylish interior and exterior. The reliablity is somewhat of an issue.

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  Great car - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By matthew - March 7 - 8:26 pm

  This is one great car to own. Its bizarre how I catch myself driving this car much slower than any previous car I have owned. The reason: I feel like a million bucks driving it, and want to spend as much time behind the wheel as possible.

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  Bargain Luxury? - 2006 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By socalh2oskier - March 2 - 5:00 pm

  One of the quietest, smoothest rides you can find. And, if you do your research, you can find genuine bargains. I paid $33k for a 2006 with 18k miles, with an 84 month/75k mile warranty. Seats are comfortable - this is one of the best cars you could ever have for a long trip. Stereo is fantastic, nav is easy to operate, and bluetooth syncs easily with most phones. Surprisingly, gas mileage is very good. I average 18-20 in the city, and 27-29 on the highway. Handling, although far from sports-car like, is quite good. Overall, this is a fine car, much better than other cars in the same price range.